Myths and Legends of the World

Cuchulain

Cuchulain, one of the greatest heroes of Irish mythology and legend, was a
warrior in the service of Conchobhar, king of Ulster. Best known for his
single-handed defense of Ulster, Cuchulain is said to have lived in the
first century
B
.
C
., and tales about him and other heroes began to be written down in the
A
.
D
. 700S. Cuchulain's adventures were recorded in a series of tales known as
the Ulster Cycle.

Early Life.
Like many Irish heroes, Cuchulain had a short, adventurous, and tragic
life. He was the son of Dechtire, sister of
King Conchobhar. She and some of her handmaidens were kidnapped on her
wedding night by Lug, the sun god, who appeared to her as a fly. Dechtire
swallowed the fly and later gave birth to a son whose original name was
Setanta.

From the beginning, the child possessed extraordinary powers. He could
swim like a fish at birth. He had seven fingers on each hand, seven toes
on each foot, and seven pupils in each eye. At the age of 7, he fought off
150 boy warriors to gain entrance to his uncle's court. When he was 12,
Setanta accidentally killed the watchdog of the smith Cullan and offered
to guard Cullan's property until another dog could be trained. It was at
that time that he changed his name to Cuchulain, which means "hound
of Cullan." He grew up to be a handsome, well-spoken man who was
very popular with women.

Trials and Achievements.
Cuchulain fell in love with Emer and asked her to marry him. Emer
insisted that Cuchulain must first prove his valor by undergoing a series
of trials and sent him to the war goddess Scatha to be trained in warfare.
On his journey to Scatha, Cuchulain had to pass through the plain of Ill
Luck, where sharp grasses cut travelers' feet, and through the Perilous
Glen, where dangerous animals roamed. Then Cuchulain had to cross the
Bridge of the Cliff, which raised itself vertically when someone tried to
cross it. Cuchulain jumped to the center and slid to the opposite side.

To repay Scatha for his training, Cuchulain fought her enemy Aife, the
strongest woman in the world. After defeating Aife, he made peace with
her, and she bore him a son, Cornila. While returning home to claim his
bride, Cuchulain rescued a princess and visited the
underworld.

Back home, Cuchulain achieved his greatest victory. When Queen Medb of
Connacht sent a great army to steal the Brown Bull of Ulster, Cuchulain
stopped them single-handedly. He alone, of all the Ulster warriors, was
unaffected by a curse that had weakened the strength of the fighting
force. Unfortunately, during one of the battles, he was forced to fight
his good friend Ferdiad, whom he killed. On numerous other occasions,
Cuchulain defended Ulster against the rest of Ireland and won numerous
contests of bravery and trustworthiness.

But misfortune followed him. Cuchulain killed his own son, Connla,
learning his identity too late. In addition, Cuchulain died as a result of
trickery. After offending Morrigan, the goddess of death and battles, he
was summoned to fight at a time when he was ill. On the way to battle, he
saw a vision of a woman washing the body and weapons of a dead warrior,
and he recognized the warrior as himself. Knowing then that his own death
was
imminent,
he fought bravely. When he was too weak to stand, Cuchulain tied himself
to a pillar so that he could die fighting on his feet. He was 27 years
old.

The Warrior.
Cuchulain had several magical weapons: his sword, his visor, and his
barbed spear, Gae Bulga, which inflicted wounds
from which nobody ever recovered. When Cuchulain went into battle, he
would go into a frenzy. His cry alone would kill a hundred warriors from
fright. His physical appearance—namely, that of a handsome
man—changed completely. Cuchulain's hair stood on end, one of his
eyes bulged out while the other disappeared in his head, his legs and feet
turned to face backward, his muscles swelled, and a column of blood
spurted up from his head. His body became so hot that it could melt snow.

When swept away in a war frenzy, Cuchulain could not distinguish between
friends and enemies. On one occasion, he was so full of the lust for
battle that he needed to be stopped. A group of Ulster women marched out
naked carrying vats of cold water to bring him to his senses. When
Cuchulain stopped his chariot in embarrassment, he was grabbed by warriors
who threw him into three vats of cold water to calm him down. The first
vat burst apart, the second boiled over, but the third merely got hot.